Liz knew the moment he arrived. She didn’t know what it was about him that always alerted her of his presence once he was in the vicinity. Madison would have said it was their spiritual connection, that they were soulmates who hadn’t figured it out yet. Catherine would have laughed at that, then murmured something a bit more rational than what Madison said, but essentially agreeing with her. It was a good thing they didn’t know about her odd intuition.
It wasn’t a feeling, just a sudden knowledge. He’s here. She said it in her head right before she heard the knock at her door. She rose, forgoing the heels she had been contemplating wearing before she decided it wasn’t worth the effort.
“Hunter,” she greeted smoothly, opening the door to his handsome, dark features. “You’re on time, as usual.”
“I know you don’t tolerate it when people are tardy,” he said with a smirk. He held out a single, long-stem red rose to her. “Here. I’ve decided to put you in an awkward position so you can’t turn this down.”
“Do you still not know me, Hunter?” Liz asked conversationally, accepting the rose. Hunter Rowland’s smirk exploded into a full blow grin at that. “Who said I liked flowers?”
“Who doesn’t like flowers?”
“You’d be surprised.” She gave it a whiff, stepping to the side. “Well, come in then.”
Hunter brushed past her, taking everything in. It was a small apartment, perfect for a lone person to live comfortably. It had everything she needed, and was decorated with her polished eye for beauty—which she knew Hunter was appreciating this very moment. She could imagine what was going through his head and hoped some of it had something to do with the state of the place, and the fact that there was no room for anyone else—no one but her.
She stayed by the door, rose still raised to her nose, as she watched him wander over to the couch. He picked up a photo frame on an end table by the couch—the only personal touch throughout the entire apartment.
“This woman looks exactly like you,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at her. “Is she your sister?”
“Yes. That’s Catherine.”
“I’ve never heard you talk about her before.”
“Because I’ve never had the reason to.” She made her way over to the kitchen, which was decorated with luxury finishes and polished marble. His eyes followed her all the way—remaining silent as she retrieved a pitcher and filled it with water, plopping the single rose in.
“You know about my siblings. And my parents,” he said, voice sounding a bit strained. Liz slowly turned back to face him. Hunter shrugged, playing it off, although Liz didn’t miss the flash of emotion on his face before he masked it. He looked back down on the frame. “And who’s this woman beside her? I think we ran into her once when we were out having dinner. You never introduced us.”
“She’s my friend.”
“Close friend?”
“Yes,” Liz responded after a moment. She watched him, studied the way the sides of his mouth turned down as he processed what she’d said, nodding in understanding. “What’s with all the questions, Hunter? You never cared to ask before.”
“Because I knew you would just shut it down. The last time I asked about your parents, all you told me was that they were fine and well. I don’t know if you know this, Elizabeth, but that’s not really revealing a lot about your life.”
Liz didn’t answer him right away. In the time they’d known each other, she had gotten to know him fairly well. Not only his past, his relationships, and miscellaneous personal details. She knew him. His personality. Who he was as an individual, and how he would react to certain things.
So, she knew that the silence, the way she just stood there and stared at him with her arms folded and her eyes as cool as ice, would unnerve him more than anything else. Right before he attempted to break the emptiness, she said, “We should have our dinner before it gets cold.”
“Yes.” He cleared his throat, setting the photo down. “We should. You have a lovely home, by the way. Not sure what I expected, but this suits you perfectly.”
In what way? she was tempted to ask, but held her tongue. Hunter, being the kind of guy he was, would have tried to psychoanalyze her, and a therapy session was not on her agenda for the evening.
“Thank you,” she said politely. “I hope you like pasta. That’s all I know how to make.”
“You cooked?” His dark brows shot upwards in surprise as he slid into one of the stools at the island. “I didn’t know you could cook.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said?” She brought over the platters and unveiled them to reveal still-steaming pasta, rich with creamy sauce, shrimp and cheese. “I only know how to make pasta,” she continued. “I don’t think having such a limited skill qualifies as knowing how to do something.”
Hunter chuckled. Whatever unease was still set in his shoulders vanished. “Well, if it’s any consolation, it looks and smells lovely.”
Liz gave him a small smile, but only because she realized she’d been slightly too cold, too polite, and a bit of a bitch. She wanted to make him feel more at ease. “Then get to eating, mister.”
Hunter’s grin widened. He took the fork she handed to him and began eating while Liz brought out the wine. She dimmed the lights before she settled down beside him. As usual, Hunter was trying not to make the fact that he was staring at her too obvious.
“So,” he began. “I have to say, I was quite surprised when I saw your message about meeting here instead. Why the change of heart?”
“I just felt like switching it up a bit,” she said with a shrug. “We always meet at the same restaurant, then end up at your place. Wouldn’t hurt for there to try something different. A change of pace.”
“I can’t say I disagree.” And judging by the smile he was trying to tamper, he was delighted by it. Oh, boy. “I’ve always wondered about where you lived, to be honest.”
“Is that so?” She wasn’t surprised.
“You’re a closed book. I can’t get a single thing out of you, even when I try to be slick with it.” Not as slick as you think you are, buddy. “So, you can’t blame me for wondering where the great Elizabeth Harley sleeps at night.”
“If you’re on your best behavior, you might get to see it up close and personal.” The sultry smile that formed on her lips was real—and the hunger sparking in Hunter’s eyes sent tingles of anticipation throughout her body.
It had been weeks since she had experienced any release. That was why she’d called Hunter over tonight instead of their usual routine. With work not keeping her constantly preoccupied, it gave her way too much time to think about the other aspects of her life she usually neglected—the very human desires and parts of her body that her mind liked to pretend did not exist.
It was quicker this way. All she had to say was a single sentence to get him to forget all about the food and head to the bedroom. In their usual routine, they ate, they spoke about trivial things, then headed to his place. Much too long for the urgency, the unmistakable need she felt rising in her abdomen.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to enjoy the décor of your bedroom once I’m there, to be honest.”
“That’s fine,” Liz said softly. “There are other things you can enjoy.”
Hunter smirked, the hungry glint in his eye spreading to his entire face. Heat enflamed her stomach, but Liz only cocked her head to look at him, her own smile playing around her lips before continuing to eat.
They spoke about nonsense. Current events, skimming over political happenings, and even once or twice, Hunter went on about his work at the office. A businessman, through and through. Almost the head, but not enough to be in the spotlight. Good enough for Liz. She liked when her men were at least as successful as she was.
Finally, they were finished. Liz got up to take the plates. Hunter rose behind her. “Let me help you with that.”
“I got it.”
He huffed a laugh. “It’s okay to accept a little help, you know.”
Annoyance tickled her. Liz set the plates down in the sink then turned to him, wiping the irritation off her face. She wanted him to stop talking. She was sick of trivial conversation. She wanted action. She wanted his hands and mouth to do the things to her she’d been craving for far too long.
“Why don’t we ignore the dishes for now and get down to business?” she said boldly. As expected, Hunter’s eyes darkened at the suggestion.
She took his hand and began leading him down the hallway to their left. He was silent the entire way, even when she opened the door to her bedroom. No comment on his lips, just passion reverberating through every bit of his body.
Reaching for her phone, she put on the new song that hadn’t left her mind since she heard it in the boutique earlier. She had looked it up, and now she knew the name of the composer. Michael Davidson. The melody drifted through the speakers positioned around her bedroom, completely relaxing her body. She tossed her phone aside.
“On the bed,” she ordered.
But Hunter lingered, eyes glowering in the dim lighting. “Before we do this, Elizabeth, I need to ask you something.”
Damn it, here we go.
“What is that?”
“Why haven’t you invited me to your apartment before? Why don’t you tell me anything about your life?”
“Hunter, you knew what this was when we started seeing each other. There’s no need for me to go into details about myself.” To prove her point, she walked over to the bed and sat. Slowly, she began unbuttoning her shirt, aware that he was watching every move. “This is only about sex. Great sex.”
She saw the struggle within him, the effort it took him to drag his gaze back to Liz’s face. “But I thought things were getting better between us. I thought you were beginning to want something more normal, like…”
“Like you were?”
He moved closer, stretching out his hands. “I thought that you inviting me here was the first step in taking our relationship further.”
“It doesn’t need to go any further than it already is.” It took great effort not to make her words too blunt, too cold. She still wanted sex tonight and didn’t feel like pushing him too far away. Just far enough that she felt safe. In control of her emotions.
“Don’t you have any feelings for me at all, Elizabeth? Hell, you don’t even allow me to call you Liz.”
Which meant he did have feelings. This wasn’t good. Liz decided she wasn’t going to lie to him, though it would have been easy to. Instead, she said, “If you’d like to call me Liz, then go right ahead.”
“I want to get to know you. Past just knowing your body. I want to know your heart and your soul.”
Liz couldn’t help it. She laughed. “Who knew you were such a romantic?”
Half a smile appeared on his lips. “I’m willing to show that all to you if you’re willing. I can be quite a poet as well. If you’re into those things.”
“I enjoy literature.”
“Then let’s take this a step further.” Now he was sitting on the bed with her, taking her face in his hands. Liz only stared at him. “I’ve been feeling this way for a long time, Liz. Every time you call to meet up, I get excited like a blushing schoolgirl because it means seeing you again. I… I think I’m falling in love with you, Elizabeth.”
Liz pulled her hand away and stood. The heat wasn’t there anymore, wasn’t spreading throughout her body to make her feel awakened and alive. Instead there was a chill, a deep-rooted coldness that shadowed her face as she put distance between them. She saw the moment he noticed it, saw the way his shoulders sagged.
“You don’t love me,” he said quietly.
She shook her head slowly.
“Elizabeth…”
“This won’t work anymore. I think you should leave.”
“Liz…”
“Elizabeth,” she corrected curtly, and he flinched. “You knew what this was, Hunter and you know I can’t give you what you’re asking for. So, before you hurt yourself even further, I think it’s best that you leave.” She opened the door for him. “It was fun.”
“Elizabeth…”
“I like you, Hunter. I really do. You’re a good guy and you’re successful, everything I would want in a man. If I wanted to have one. But I don’t. I don’t do relationships, I don’t do love. That’s just not in my future, so if you can’t be content with what we have now, then I think it’s best for you to leave before things get even worse.”
She thought she knew him, but she wasn’t prepared for the flare of anger that rocked his entire body. “You’re such a bitch,” he spat at her. “A cold-hearted bitch.”
Liz hardly blinked at him. “I’ve been called much worse.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you have.” Hunter stood there for a moment, as if he wasn’t sure if he should stay and fight a bit longer, or storm out. Emotions raced across his face, his hands clenching and unclenching at his side. Liz just waited patiently for him to come to a decision.
It seemed he thought the latter was the best choice and he walked out, not sparing her another glance. Liz silently followed behind him. She watched as he collected his things, making his way to the front door.
Hunter paused, then turned to look over his shoulder at her. “I wish I could say I won’t miss you.”
“I wish I could do the same,” she said softly. But there was enough steel in her voice for him to keep his distance, for him to know that while she might miss him a bit, she still wouldn’t change her mind. Something that looked a lot like defeat flooded his features right before he walked out the door.
The moment the door was closed, Liz sighed and went to go wash the dishes.